Concerns raised with apartment complex application demolishing Ex-Services Club building in Aylesbury

A notice was placed in The Bucks Herald newspaper last week revealing that a company plans to demolish the building in Walton Street and replace it with a four-storey block of flats.

Current plans would include up to 37 new apartments and a new car park for tenants. Hopewell Housing’s application can be viewed on Bucks Council’s website here and it notes that a previous application to turn the property into a 14-home apartment site was approved.

The Ex-Services Club closed its doors in 2019 and The Bucks Herald previously reported that the venue endured years of financial difficulty prior to the closure.

Hopewell Housing states in its planning application that the building already sits within an urban area. The company says that similar apartment complexes are located nearby and other properties are mixed-use buildings typically ranging between three and five storeys in height.

The developer believes 62 - 64 Walton Street is a sustainable urban site due to Aylesbury’s town centre being within walking distance, its close proximity to Vale Park, and schools being in nearby locations.

Hopewell Housing revealed that it would look to construct 30 one-bed apartments, six units with two beds, and one three-bed room.

According to assessments carried out by a third-party, the statement says the project has a £7.04m gross development value. Concerns about the project’s financial viability mean the company is not seeking to deliver developer contributions or setting affordable housing targets.

"The scheme cannot viably support the full level of policy-compliant contributions, including affordable housing, on a 100% open market basis,” the planning statement says.

Hopewell Housing confirmed it was seeking to build a four-storey property as this would be in keeping with nearby buildings which typically range from three to five levels high.

The developer also revealed that it was not viable to deliver the project with flats containing balconies due to the potential encroachment on nearby public and private land. The company is not looking to deliver new open spaces due to the number of nearby public parks, the statement revealed.

The application was validated on August 25 and consultants are currently providing feedback on the viability of the scheme.

Aylesbury Town Council submitted a formal objection to the project. The council questions whether the current plans provide enough parking for 37 new dwellings and state that any new development should be no higher than three stories.

An environmental protection officer representing the council raised concerns regarding potential noise nuisances. They said that residents living in flats facing the dual carriageway into Aylesbury town centre, which Walton Street is located on, could be exposed to significant road traffic noise with the potential for sleep disturbance during the night time period.

The officer said this would be of particular concern during the summer when occupants might leave windows open overnight to keep flats cool. They called for a fresh noise assessment to be carried out by the application due to the increase in scale of the project when compared to the previous 14-unit plan that was approved.

An assessment carried out by Optimus Planning was called “not comprehensive” by the officer who said it “lacks much of the detail we would normally expect to see”.